Ch. 23 "Leighanne!" Brian gasped. "What are you doing here?" She smiled sweetly at him. "Nice to see you too...," she teased. Brian looked down and laughed slightly. "You know what I meant." Leighanne stepped inside and Brian took the bags from her. She pulled him to her and hugged him. "The movies just couldn't do it for me. I needed to see you but I can only stay for a couple of days." Brian buried his face in the side of her hair, inhaling the sweet scent of her herbal shampoo. "I'm so glad you came. I've been missing you like crazy." She turned her face towards his and their lips met, gently at first but it quickly deepened. They slowly parted and Brian picked up her bags that he dropped when she hugged him and carried them off to his bedroom, her walking right behind him. They walked by Nick's room to see him and Amy deeply focused on the game. "Hey, Nick," Brian called out. Nick waved him off. "Shh!" "Leighanne's here..." He looked up and gave her a small smile before looking back at the screen. "Hey girl! Nice to see you here." Leighanne smiled. "You too. I see you're getting beat again, as usual." Amy heard that and started laughing at the frustrated look on Nick's face. "Very funny, Leighanne," Nick sneered. Brian laughed and pulled her in closer, kissing her cheek. "I've been a very bad influence on you, haven't I, baby?" She looked over at him. "You've corrupted me, my little bad boy..." He smiled at her again. "Wanna see how bad I am?" he suggested. She bit her lower lip and gave him a sexy look. "I would love to see how bad you are..." He stepped back and pulled at her arm. "Well, let's go then.." She giggled and they ran off into Brian's bedroom, locking the door. "Yessss!!" Amy cheered. "I won!" She sat her controller down and looked over at Nick. "Can we stop now? We've been playing for about six hours and I have blisters on my blisters on my thumbs." Nick shook his head. "No. I wanna play some more.." Amy's shoulders sank and she let out a big sigh. "What are you trying to do? Wear me out so you can finally win?" He looked over at her, a small smile on his face. "No. I just wanna play some more.." Amy stood up and laid her controller on his bed and started to walk off. "Well, you can play by yourself. I'm tired of this." He grabbed her arm and pulled her back on the bed, making her fall on her back. He leaned down on his elbow and looked into her eyes. "What do you wanna do then?" he asked. She shrugged her shoulders, making her sweat shirt come up some. Nick took his free hand and started running his fingers along her stomach, letting them sink into her navel. He could feel the goosebumps raise on her skin. He looked back into her eyes and saw she had them closed. He leaned down and taking his teeth, gently tugged at her lower lip. She opened her eyes and looked into his. "What are---?" She was interrupted when he started running his fingers through her bangs and the sides of her face. "Close your eyes," he told her. She did as he told. As soon as she did, she felt his moist lips kissing her eyelids, then moving along the bridge of her nose. Skipping her lips, he kissed her cheeks and the tip of her chin, moving along her jaw until he reached her ear. She gasped slightly as his teeth tugged at her earlobe and his hot breath blew inside her ear as his tongue entered it slightly. "Nick, what are you doing?" she asked, giggling slightly. He placed his index finger on her lips. "Shh..." He was taken by surprise when she opened her mouth and started sucking on it gently. He stopped what he was doing and watched her move her tongue and lips along his finger. She stopped and smiled, eyes still closed. "Like that, don't you?" she asked teasingly. He chuckled slightly. "Do you suck *other* things like that?" She opened her eyes then, laughed out loud and popped him on the arm. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He laughed. "After that, yeah..." She smiled. "Sorry. I don't do things like that. Especially not with someone I don't know where I stand with." Nick looked in her eyes. "You know I really like you, it's just..." She nodded. "Yeah, I understand. I feel the same way." "That's what I like about you." She smiled and closed her eyes again. They were quiet. Suddenly, she felt the weight on the bed lift and open her eyes to see Nick standing up. She propped up on her elbows. "What are you doing?" He pulled out a CD and put it into his CD player, putting it on a number. He leaned over and pulled her up. "Can I have this dance?" She nodded. "Sure. To what song?" He just smiled. "You'll see. It kinds shows what you mean to me." He pressed Play and Christina Augilera's song, "I Turn to You" came on. As soon as the music started, Nick pulled Amy close to him and she placed her hands on his shoulders, laying her head on his chest as they swayed back and forth. As they slow danced, Nick softly sang the chorus to her: "For a shield from the storm For a friend For a love to keep me safe and warm I turn to you For the strength to be strong For the will to carry on I turn to you..." Amy could smell the scent of his Cool Water cologne fill her nostrils and it took her back. She closed her eyes and could see her and Lance together, dancing to this song at the Senior Prom. He wore the same cologne and his body felt so similar to Nick's. She could see the eyes of all the other couples on the two them. She knew that all the girls envied her for having the star kicker as a boyfriend. She didn't care a thing bit about that. To her, he was the kindest, more caring, loving guy she had ever dated and she felt he had truly loved her. What a fool she was. She got a flashback to the phone call the night before she left for this trip and she could still hearing those painful words of "I just don't love you anymore.." ringing in her ears. She started to cry slightly. She felt Nick stop and look down. "Amy? Are you crying? What's wrong?" Her eyes snapped open and she was brought back to the present. She stepped back and looked up at him. "I-I, uh, I can't do this. I gotta go. See you later..." She ran out of the room and out the door, leaving Nick standing there, feeling very confused. She ran across the sand and up the steps to her house. It was still light, but the sun was setting. She sat on her steps, looking at the sunset, feeling the tears streaming down her cheeks. What am I doing? I can't...I can't be more than friends with Nick. I love Lance too much. I can't subject myself to anymore pain just yet, she thought. The thing was, Lance acted the same way towards her that Nick is now and look how that turned out. She was scared it was going to happen again. Nick must think I'm some kind of wacko or something. One minute we're hanging out, then we're kissing, like we're a couple or something. I'm not ready for this...Will I ever be ready for this? I wish I knew.... She got up, wiped her eyes, and walked into the house. "What did I do?" Nick asked himself as he watched Amy run off. He stepped back and closed the door, shaking his head. We're getting nowhere here, he thought, I'm gonna wind up scaring her off. I just care for her so much. I won't lose her, no matter what. "Where did Amy run off to so quickly?" Howie asked. Nick turned to see Howie walk in the room, a bottle of water in hand. Nick shrugged his shoulders and plopped down on the couch. "What do I keep doing? Why is she running off like this?" he asked, not realizing Howie may not know what was going on. Howie opened the bottle cap and took a swallow. "What were ya'll doing?" he asked. Nick ran his fingers through his hair. "We started out playing Playstation, then we were talking, then we were dancing. Right in the middle of the song, I noticed she was crying so I asked her what was wrong. All of a sudden, she tells me she can't do this and runs out. What did I do? What am I doing wrong?" Howie sat down in the chair across from Nick. "Maybe she got to thinking about her ex-boyfriend while ya'll were dancing and it just hurt her too bad to keep on. Nick, I'm sure it's not anything that you're doing, she's just really confused and she's dealing with a lot of issues right now. She'll come back to you as soon as she's got everything dealt with." Nick sighed and sat back in the chair. "I hope so..." Howie smiled. "You really like her, don't you?" he asked. Nick looked up at the ceiling as if he were talking to it. "Like I never thought I would. I figured we'd be friends and that would be it but she's just taken me by surprise. She totally understands what I am going through. I have never met such a caring and compassionate person in my life. But as much as I understand her, there's just this big mystery behind her. Just when I think I've got her figured out, she pulls up something up that I never saw..." "That's part of loving someone.." "But I don't...." "I know. You don't love her yet but given the chance, you will. Just as she will. Part of loving someone is the knowledge that you're never gonna know everything about her but will think you do. I think you guys will someday love each other and then you will realize this.." Nick chuckled as he watched Howie drink the last of his drink. "Look out, Dr. Ruth, Dr. D is here. Where did you come up with all that?" Howie pointed to his head. "Just as in love, you'll never know all about your friends. Well, I gotta go take a shower." "Why?" "Because tonight, I am going out. Kevin, Beth, Brian, Leighanne, A.J., Tatiana, Kelly, and I are going clubbing. Would you care to join us? It might do you some good." Nick thought about it for a second. "You know, I think I will. It might take my mind off of things." Howie stood up. "Well, all righty. We're leaving at 9. Be ready to go before then." With that, he walked off to his room leaving Nick. Nick closed his eyes, sighed, and got up, walking off to his room. Amy walked into her room and fell down backwards on her bed. She heard a knock on the door and sat up. "Come in," she announced before laying back down on the bed. She expected it to be Jessie or Matt; it was Tatiana. "Hey, Amy. I just came by to see if you were going out with me, Kelly, and the guys." Amy sat up. "Where are ya'll doing?" "There's this club called The Pink Flamingo right down the street and A.J. and Brian invited us so we thought we would go. I figured Nick invited you since ya'll are..." Amy stood up. "We're not anything. I don't even know if we're friends." Her face crumbled and she sat down on the bed. Tat rushed over to her and sat next to her, putting her arm around Amy's shoulders. "What do you mean? What happened?" Amy shook her head. "That's just it, I don't know. We were dancing and all of a sudden, I started thinking about Lance and I panicked. I started thinking, what if Nick does to me what Lance did, what if I get hurt again, what if, what if, what if. I had to get out of there and now, Nick probably thinks I'm some major unbalanced freak or something." "I seriously doubt that. He's been through the same thing you have, he understands. But Amy, you've gotta give him a chance. I seriously doubt with all my heart that he would ever put you through the pain that Lance did. He knows way too well what it feels like. And Amy, some of the greatest loves come from the deepest pain. Unless you want to be lonely all your life and alone, you have to deal with your pain and move on. I hate to say it because of how I feel about Nick, but you two have a lot of potential together. I can see the love developing between ya'll whether you notice it or not." Amy wiped her eyes and looked over at Tat. "I really do care for Nick...I guess I'm just scared. I feel like I've lost control over everything and it scares me. I don't think I'm gonna go tonight." Tat nodded her head and sighed. "I think it would help...but if you don't want to go, that's fine..Hey, since you won't be there, mind if I dance with Nick?" "Does it matter what I say? Go ahead, I don't care. He'd probably like you more than me anyways.." Tat stood up and looked down at her friend. "Well, I guess I'll go now. If you change your mind, you know where the club is right?" Amy nodded. "I'll find it." "Okay. Bye." Amy watched Tat walk out of her room and closed the door. She laid back down on the bed. Just as she closed her eyes, she heard another knock on the door. Can't I be alone for five minutes? she thought with a huff. She got up and opened the door. It was Jessie. "Get your ass up. You are going to that club," she ordered, marching into the room. "I can't go, Jess! Nick is there and I just can't be near him now. I...I.." "No excuses. I want you to get in that bathroom, take a nice hot shower, find you a pretty dress, and get your ass to that club. You are not losing this one." She walked over to the closet and pulled out a tight-fitting, white with tiny flowers, short, spaghetti-strapped dress and tossed it over to Amy. "Wear this. You can borrow my sandals. What size shoe are you?" "A 12..." Jessie's jaw dropped. "Well, okay then, guess we'll have to forget about you wearing my shoes then. What are standing there for? Go take a shower." Amy threw her arms up. "Why are doing this to me, Jess?" she asked. Jessie sighed. "Because I am tired of seeing you like this. You have found someone to make you forget about Lance, to heal your pain, and look what you're doing...you're pushing him away. You are going to move on, I'm gonna make you do it. Now, go." Amy opened her mouth to protest, but closed it. It was no good arguing with her friend. She was right. She grabbed her towel and trudged off to her bathroom. Jessie fell on the bed, breaking down in tears. She had been through what Amy was going through, she wasn't about to let Amy lose what could be the best thing that ever happened to her. "Well...," A.J. said. Tat shook her head. "She won't go. I tried to talk her into it." Nick walked into the room, fully dressed and ready to go. "What are you guys talking about?" Tat and A.J. just looked at each other as a way to tell each other to say nothing. "We're talking about that club. Everyone has said it is the best one around here," A.J. lied. Nick shook his head. "She's not going, is she?" Nick figured them out. "I tried," Tat said sympathetically. Nick slammed his fist against the wall. "Damnit! What have I done to that girl?" Tat walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. "You haven't done anything. She told me that...she thinks that you're gonna be like Lance because he started off so nice to her and then he cheated on her. She's just got some major issues to deal with. She'll come around, I promise." Nick leaned his head against the wall and then turned around, leaning backwards with a sigh. "I just hope it's before this trip is over." A.J. and Tat just nodded in sympathy. Brian, with Emily on his shoulders, and Leighanne, Kevin, Beth. and Howie walked into the room. "Are we ready to go?" Brian asked, in a fake Mexican accent, "Yo quiero comer." Leighanne giggled and looked over at Brian. "When did you learn to speak Spanish?" she inquired. He gave her a look. "I am Mexican, I know Spanish!" he continued in his accent, "Okay..okay..I learned from the Taco Bell dog." Everyone laughed. Leighanne leaned over to his ear. "Know anything else in Spanish?" she said in a low voice. He gave her a wink. "Tengo hambre para tu amor," he whispered, "And the dog didn't teach me that one.." She smiled. "What does it mean though?" she asked. He gave her a sexy grin. "I'll show you later." "Hey, hey! Not in front of them kid!" Beth teased. They laughed, except for Nick. Brian saw this. He let Emily down and she took Kevin's hand. "Let's go," Brian said. They all walked out the door. As Nick walked out, Brian caught him by the arm and pulled him back. "Hey, Leighanne!" he yelled. She looked over at him. "Yeah, sweetie?" "Could you ride with Kevin, Beth, and Emily? I need to talk to Nick..." She nodded. They all walked to their rented cars, climbed in and drove off.
Ch. 24 Brian pulled into a parking space at the club and glanced over at the depressing look all over his best friend's face as he stared blankly out the window, his chin propped on his hand, elbow propped on window. He looked down at the steering wheel and put the car in park. He looked back at Nick whose facial expressions hadn't changed. He took a deep breath loudly released it. "Okay, Nick. Tell me what happened." Nick's mood swiftly changed as he slammed his fist against the dashboard. "That's just it, I don't know!! Everything was fine and then bam! she ran out crying..," he exclaimed irascibly. Brian held his hands up. "Whoa..whoa..back that up. What happened between the 'everything was fine'and the 'bam!'? Why did she run out crying?" Nick looked so frustrated Brian wondered for a split second if he was going to burst into tears. Nick inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly as to relax himself and collect his thoughts. "All I remember is that Amy and I were playing NBA Live, I think, and she was getting tired.." "Of beating you?" Brian interrupted jokingly, expecting a grin and a smirk. When he got neither, his smile faded. "Sorry, couldn't help it. Continue.." "Anyways..so I played my Christina Augilera CD.." "And she got jealous..," Brian broke in again. Nick crossed his arms and sat back. "Okay, I'll shut up!! Keep going.." Nick shook his head. "Not if you're going to keep interrupting me.." Brian sat up. "I won't, I promise. Now, keep going.." Nick gave Brian a wary look but sat up and unfolded his arms. "Then I asked her to dance with me to that song, 'I Turn to You',..." Brian started to open his mouth and Nick glared at him. Brian immediately closed it. "While we were dancing, she started crying softly on my shoulder. I asked her what was wrong. All she told me was that she couldn't do this anymore or something like that and she took off running.." Brian was quiet now, looking a little perplexed. Nick, annoyed by sudden lack of words, huffed. "Oh, so what now? I need you to talk and you have nothing to say? You have to tell me something! I'm on a frickin' limb here and she's not the only one afraid of getting hurt again!" Brian looked up at him. "That's just it though, Nick. She's afraid of getting hurt. My guess is that she some memory of her and Luke..L...Lane.." "Lance.." "Whatever the dude's name is. She probably started thinking about how they danced to that song or something and it was too painful for her to bear. That's the only good reason I can come up with." Nick nodded and looked down at the fingernails he had been biting due to his nerves. "Yeah, that's what Howie said.." "It is a legitimate reason. If it's so, she'll figure out how to deal with it and come back to you. All you can give her is space and time.." "Two things I don't have much of.." Brian shrugged his shoulders. "That's about all I can tell you, bro. That's about all you can do.." Brian gave him a sympathetic smile. "You really like her, don't you?" "More than I ever deemed possible. I am so afraid that I'm gonna lose the best thing that could ever happen to me because she can't let go of the past," Nick sighed. Brian looked down. He had no words of comfort nor wisdom for the moment so both sat there speechless. Their silence was interposed by a tapping on Nick's window. It was A.J. standing there with one of his goofy grins plastered all over his face. He motioned for Nick to roll down his window so Nick did it halfway. "Why are ya'll stalling here?" he bellowed out, "We've got some major clubbin' to do!" Nick just stared out the windshield and Brian looked up at A.J. "We are..we were having a major discussion here." "About who?" "You and how you are so damn nosey and you have to know everything about everyone," Nick muttered, only half-joking. A.J. gave him a smirk and a sarcastic chuckle. "No really. What was it about?" Nick rolled his eyes. "None of your damn business," he snapped. "Amy," Brian told him simultaneously. A.J. smiled. "What about Amy? About her not coming? Well, have no fear because your girl's right over there." Nick's head snapped up. "Where?" he demanded. A.J. pointed at the entrance to the club. Nick looked over in that direction. It was her, standing there in a short flowery summer dress, hair tied up loosely on top of her head. He felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach and the wind had been knocked out of him as he peered at her. She looked so beautiful, yet so alone. A car door slamming intervened his thoughts and he looked over to see Brian standing outside the car. He did the same and looked over at Brian. Brian nodded his head in the direction of Amy. "Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked, "Go get her." Nick straightened his clothes and hair and looked back up. She was standing at the door, her loose hair and dress fluttering in the warm salty breeze, and her ocean blue eyes were burning deeply into his. He tried to say something but the words melted on his tongue like ice cream on a hot summer day. She looked away when he didn't say anything and walked inside. Nick just looked down and slowly walked in. Brian and A.J. exchanged concerned glances. "This girl better be worth all this," A.J. said. Brian watched his best friend then looked back at A.J., nodding in agreement. "According to him, she is. I believe it myself." "I hope she is with all she's putting him through." "You know Nick's always been the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. He'll get her eventually." They walked up on the sidewalk and into the club, joining the others. Amy walked inside and scanned the crowded building. She heard loud shrieks of laughter and spotted Kevin, A.J., Brian, Leighanne, Kevin, Beth, Emily, Howie, Tatiana, and Kelly seated in one giant booth. A sudden wave of isolation and loneliness washed over her and she longed to join them but the boy walking in the building, the one she couldn't yet face, was the thing that stopped her. She noticed his eyes roaming the room, looking for her, and swiftly turned around, finding a booth of her own in the far opposite corner of the room, and was seated. She looked over at her menu and finally settled on a root beer. As she sat there, she felt her eyes being pulled over to Nick. She sighed sadly and settled in for another uneventful lonely night, all being her fault. About 30 minutes later... A.J. and Kelly returned to the table and sat down after a few rounds of fast paced dancing. Kevin and Beth as well as Brian and Leighanne were out on the floor. Howie had even got Tat to go dance with him on the floor. The only ones left at the table were Emily, for obvious reasons, and Nick. Nick was tearing up napkins and tearing them up, making little balls out of them. He would then balance on the handle of his spoon and hitting the bottom of the spoon, he launched them into his water. His aim was off and most of the pieces were all over the table. Emily was coloring on her menu and then looked up at the anguish all over Nick's face. She leaned over and hugged him. He smiled slightly down at her and returned the hug. "At least someone loves me," he sighed. A.J. and Kelly exchanged sympathetic glances and sighed as they watched Nick. The song went off. Tat had kept her eye on Nick the whole time she was dancing with Howie and it was breaking her heart to see him like that. "Sweet Lady" by Tyrese came on and Tat looked back at Howie, giving him a polite smile. "Let's sit this one out, okay?" she asked him, "Because I'm pooped." Howie nodded and they walked back over to the booth. "Sweet lady, would you be my...sweet love for..a lifetime...," Kevin serenaded Beth as they danced so close together. Beth looked up at him. "Am I your sweet lady?" she asked teasingly. He smiled dow at her. "Of course you are," he replied, "I love you." She smile, satisfied. "I love you, my uh..sweet..baby.." He laughed. "Sweet baby?" "Hey, cut me some slack here for my lack of originality and creativity. I mean, I can't exactly call you my sweet lady," she came to her own defense, "It doesn't really sound right." "Just don't use it in front of the guys, especially Brian," he made her vow, "Because every time I look over at him, he mouths 'Boo-boo' and starts cracking up." Beth looked over at him and saw him start laughing and Leighanne pop him on the shoulder. An evil grin formed on her face. "I know how to shut him up," she claimed. He gave her an interested look and a raised eyebrow. "Do tell..." Beth smiled. "Simple: We find out what Leighanne calls him. Wouldn't you love to know what kind of pet name she has for him?" "Dying to. Just anything to stop him from teasing me." Beth grinned wickedly. "I bet I could get Leighanne to tell me something." "Okay, do it." She nodded her head. "As soon as this song's over, I'll get her to go to the restroom with me and ask her." He kissed the top of her forehead. "I love your evil little mind," he whispered. She giggled. "You can repay me later," she whispered back. It was his turn to smile wickedly. "And I will greatly..." They danced to the rest of the song and walked back to their booth. Beth and Leighanne walked off to the bathroom and Kevin grinned at Brian as they slid in the booth. "What was that for?" Brian asked suspiciously. "You'll see soon enough," Kevin replied mysteriously. Brian watched his girlfriend walk off with Beth. Brian looked back at Kevin who gave him an innocent grin. Beth and Leighanne walked into the bathroom and over to the lavatories. They were the only ones in there, they thought. As they adjusted their makeup, Beth looked over at Leighanne. "I'm sure you heard Brian is teasing Kevin about the pet names I've given him," she said. Leighanne laughed. "Man, have I. I think Brian dreams about it, because he keeps repeating it in his sleep and laughing." "You know how bad that's irritating Kevin?" "Know how bad it's irritating me?" "So you wanna help me get him to shut up?" Leighanne leaned into the mirror, focusing on her mascara. "More than anything in the world." Beth reapplied her lipstick and smiled wickedly over at Leighanne. "What are your pet names for Brian?" she asked. Leighanne laughed. "Which ones? Let's see..there's Baby B, Pumpkin, Little B....that's about it.." Then her face turned bright red. "Oh, and uh...Bedrock..." Beth laughed out loud. "Bedrock?! Oh, my god!" she exclaimed, "Where did you think of that or do I need to ask?" Leighanne gave her this look. Beth started laughing so hard she had to lean against the sink. "Wait..til..Kev..hears that o..one...ha ha.." Leighanne shook her head violently. "No..no..don't tell him that one," she told her, "Bri would kill me." Beth nodded. "Oh all right..." They got quiet and when they did, they heard sniffling. Leighanne looked over at Beth. "What was that?" she asked. They walked over to the stall the noise was coming from and opened it slightly. It was Amy.
